Mo2C as Non‐Noble Metal Co‐Catalyst in Mo2C/CdS Composite for Enhanced Photocatalytic H2 Evolution under Visible Light Irradiation

Abstract Co‐catalysts are a major factor to enhance photocatalytic H 2 activity; they are mainly composed of expensive noble metals. Here, we reported a new non‐noble‐metal co‐catalyst Mo 2 C that efficiently improves the photocatalytic H 2 evolution of CdS under visible light irradiation. Mo 2 C is prepared by temperature‐programmed reaction with molybdenum oxide as precursor, and the Mo 2 C/CdS composite is prepared by deposition of CdS on Mo 2 C. The optimum composite 2.0 % Mo 2 C/CdS shows a high H 2 evolution rate of 161 μmol h −1 , which is ten times higher than that of CdS alone and 2.3 times higher than the optimum for 1.0 % Pt/CdS. Moreover, the Mo 2 C/CdS is stable for 50 h. This study presents a new low‐cost non‐noble‐metal co‐catalyst as a photocatalyst to achieve highly efficient H 2 evolution.